Novak Djokovic has given an update on his future in the sport after a painful Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Jannik Sinner.
A hampered Djokovic was smashed 6-3 6-3 6-4 by world number one Sinner, who will now face Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.
Djokovic was hoping to equal Roger Federer’s tally of eight Wimbledon titles and claim a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
But an emphatic defeat at the hands of Sinner raises speculation over Djokovic’s future in the sport.
Before the tournament started, Djokovic refused to deny this could be his ‘Last Dance’ at Wimbledon.
The 38-year-old, one of the best players in history, was struggling physically during his defeat to Sinner but has no immediate plans to retire and intends to return to Wimbledon ‘at least one more time’.
‘Hopefully it’s not my last match on the Centre Court,’ he said in his press conference. ‘I’m not planning to finish my Wimbledon career today.
‘So I’m planning to come back definitely at least one more time, play on the Centre Court for sure.’
Asked what will determine his future in the sport, Djokovic added: ‘Right now I’m so fresh off the court, it’s hard to put things in a larger perspective and say what the plan is for the next few months or a year.
‘I’ve put everything I possibly can when it comes to training and preparing myself so I can play my best at Grand Slams.
‘I think, regardless of the fact that I haven’t won a Grand Slam this year, or last year, I still feel like I continue to play my best tennis at Grand Slams.
‘Those are the tournaments that I care about at this stage of my career the most.
‘So yeah, I probably have to revisit everything and see with my team, with my family, how I want to proceed with my schedule and where I want to peak and how I want to train.
‘I don’t know what I can do differently, to be honest, because the amount of hours that I spend on a daily basis to take care of myself, I’d like to challenge everyone who is out there on the tour to see if anybody takes cares of themselves more than me.
‘And I, unfortunately, don’t get rewarded for that right now, with injuries at the later stages of slams. But I was rewarded for many, many years.
‘I’m just trying to make, I guess, the maximum out of what I have left. Again, I just got off the court, so of course, I’m upset and disappointed, mostly not for the loss, because obviously even if I was fit.
‘I wasn’t a favourite to win against Sinner, I know that, but I think I had good chances if I was fit.
‘But it’s just that physical aspect that is bothering me. You’re there. You want to play. You’re determined. But then the body doesn’t want to listen. That’s it. That’s what you can say about it.’